We left the trailer earlyish and drove south almost 20 miles to get to Carlsbad Caverns which are in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. After entering the park we had to drive 7 miles to the visitor center and the road was eerily quiet; I guess there are not too many folks coming to Carlsbad at this time of the year which is good for us. The views from hill that the visitor center sits on were amazing, we could see miles and for miles there was nothing just wide open space with the Guadalupe Mountains in the distance.






Mike had booked a ranger guided tour and so we headed 750 feet down in an elevator to meet up with the ranger. There were only 14 people on our tour, which was a big enough number; I’m glad it wasn’t a full tour of 55. We did the King’s Palace Tour which took us to the deepest part of the cave that is open to the public, and we saw the most magnificent formations.
The caverns, unlike most limestone caves were created as a result of sulfuric acid which was formed when hydrogen sulfide gas rose from thousands of feet below the surface and mixed with the water table. Over millions of years, the mountain rose and the ground water drained, leaving behind the caverns that we got to see today. The caverns were initially explored by a 16 year old cowboy named Jim White and it was he who gave the different rooms and formations of the caverns their names, such as Queen's Chamber, Papoose Room, Rock of Ages, and Fairyland. Many of the names he gave to the first rooms and formations he discovered where such as Devil’s Spring and Bottomless Pit, maybe because he thought he was descending into hell, but as he explored further the names given became less hellish and more complimentary.
The tour we took lasted about an hour and a half and we saw some amazing formations; the pictures I took definitely do not do them justice. It was really breathtaking and the pics do not show the splendour or vastness of the caverns. While we were in one of the rooms the ranger turned out all the lights and the darkness was indescribable; with no light filtering from anywhere it was impossible to see anything. Even your own hand in front of your face when you knew it was right there couldn’t be seen; definitely not a place I’d want to be without a torch!
After the ranger led tour finished we got to visit the Big Room and all the areas off that and to see more fantastic formations. The detour to Carlsbad was definitely worthwhile just to see this place; the Carlsbad Caverns are amazing.

Mike: This is the third time in my life I have been here and each time it's more
spectacular than I remember the last time. Truly one of the wonders of the world!!!




















This afternoon we drove back into Carlsbad to get lunch and stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Rojas (not Roger’s as Nell thought). Mike ordered enchiladas and was asked by the waiter whether he wanted them flat or rolled. Who knew there was such a thing as flat enchiladas!